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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 07/18/2017
The chapter secured a sponsorship and the opportunity to recognize outstanding women in uniform at the July Walnut Club Awards honoring 42 female business and community leaders in the Philadelphia region. Chapter leaders extended invitations to several members to the dinner awards banquet for their support of the chapter and their dedication to defending the nation. Receiving recognition for their service were Lt. Col. Stacie A. Rembold, USAF, commander, 436th Communications Squadron; Capt. Tanya M. Koch, USAF, director of operations, 436th Communications Squadron; and Capt. Jo Anne Schultze, USAR, Judge Advocate General's Corps, and director of operations, USO of Southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Accompanying them at the event were Chapter President Rob Corey, Treasurer Mark Meaders, Regional Vice President Frank Arlotta, Tina Jordan, AFCEA vice president, membership, and Kristen Davis of Philadelphia's Salvation Army. Rob Gessner, chapter vice president-programs, with assistan ... READ MORE
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 09/01/2015
Michael Ivey, a junior majoring in electrical engineering at the University of Delaware, received a $2,500 Afghanistan and Iraq War Veterans Scholarship from the AFCEA Educational Foundation in September. Ivey, who repaired Lockheed C-130 aircraft during his stint in Afghanistan, works part time at Delta Engineering in New Castle, Delaware. He plans a career in aviation or the biomedical field after graduation. Chapter President Joe Portale, chief technologist for Mobility Solutions at Lockheed Martin, presented Ivey with the award, including a check and a certificate, at the university's Patrick T. Harker Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Laboratory.
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 02/19/2015
In February, the chapter recognized Tracy Edwards, science teacher at the Highland Park Program for Success School (Gloucester City, NJ), as the 2014 winner of a $1,000 AFCEA STEM Grant. Edwards' grant application purchased a 1-year school membership with Explore Learning's interactive site called Gizmos. The site enables up to 150 students to actively learn and manipulate information, equipment readings and data to answer questions and draw conclusions about a variety of science and mathematics topics. This computer-based learning will greatly benefit the students not only by teaching them important science, technology and mathematics topics/subjects but by increasing the amount of time each student spends on the computer.
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 11/19/2014
The chapter held a social event in November to kick off 2015 at the Coastline Restaurant. Individuals brainstormed various events to be held in an effort to rejuvenate the chapter base. Many great ideas were presented and a sound path established for future events and socials.
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 11/27/2013 In November, the chapter recognized Dave Purdon, a science teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School (Camden, New Jersey), as the 2013 winner of a $1,000 AFCEA STEM grant. Purdon's grant application enables his class to build three different projects: (1) a fractal antenna for their NASA Radio Jove Project (which they built with their 2010 AFCEA STEM grant) to monitor RF transmissions from Jupiter; (2) a spectrophotometer to generate spectra of various compounds and determine the concentration (visible wavelength) of a substance in water; and (3) an Arduino microcontroller "computer," which the students learn to program in order to generate a musical (piano) output, control a robot and build a video game controller. Some of the Woodrow Wilson High School students that participated were Josue Soto, Roberto Santiago, Amber Camacho and Alfredo Llorens;. |
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 05/22/2012.JPG)
U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan (R-NJ) served as the featured speaker at the chapter's general membership meeting in May. The chapter held the luncheon at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB-MDL) with nearly 100 attendees, including representatives from the Air Force, Navy and Army, and industry sponsors RF Products, Specialty Systems, Aeortek/TEK Systems and Swemco. JB-MDL is the military's only joint base with all five services present, including the Coast Guard and Marines. Runyan spoke about his work on the House Armed Services Committee, the joint base, defense jobs and future Base Realignment and Closure activities. The congressman arrived early and stayed late after his address to talk individually with all military and civilian attendees and to have pictures taken with all who asked. Reminiscent of his former National Football League All-Pro career, Runyan also presented an autographed football to Senior Airman Brenan Duffy, USAF, who received McGuire's Airman of the Year Award.
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 04/04/2012
For the 15th consecutive year, the chapter participated in the Delaware Valley Science Fair (DVSF) as Special Award Category judges. This year's science fair in April featured 901 projects submitted by 1,007 high school and junior high students from 249 schools in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, which were awarded more than $3 million in prize money. The chapter's first place winner was Jacob Heffernan, a junior from Concord High School in Wilmington, Delaware. His project, “Motion Tracking Laser Turret,” included a working model of a camera-guided tracking system that interpreted targets and shot a low-power laser to hit them without accidental misses or hitting nontargets. Heffernan designed and built the hardware, wrote software, performed all the testing, shot videos and presented his project at the DVSF. The chapter awarded cash prizes and free one-year student memberships to four selected students.
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 09/15/2011.JPG)
The chapter's executive committee visited the University of Pennsylvania campus in September to award a $5,000 science, technology, engineering and mathematics scholarship to Shannon Fusina, who is studying to obtain her Master's degree and wants to become a science teacher. While planning this meeting, the chapter also renewed contact with the university's ROTC detachment (Lt. John Murray and Col. Marchioro) to coordinate upcoming activities.
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 11/13/2009
In November, the chapter's guest speaker was Lt. Gen. William T. Lord, USAF, chief of warfighting integration and chief information officer, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He gave a thought-provoking presentation on the challenges facing the U.S. Air Force as information systems are modernized and the needs for all information systems users are accommodated. Some of the challenges are young recruits wanting to use Facebook, Twitter and other social networking programs. Lt. Col. Robert Licciardi, USAF, commanding officer of the 87th Communications Squadron at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, also addressed the audience.
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 04/02/2009
Capt. Alfonza Howard, USAF, flight commander, plans and resources, 305th Communications Squadron, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, spoke to the chapter during the April meeting. |
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 04/01/2009
Robert Corey, a test engineer at Northrop Grumman and the chapter vice president, received a certificate from Tom Rachfalski, chapter president, in recognition of his lifetime membership during the April meeting. Corey previously served as a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force's 305th Communications Squadron at McGuire Air Force Base.
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 10/16/2008
The chapter and the AFCEA International Small Business Committee hosted a one-day conference in October to educate small businesses on working with the government. The conference theme was "Doing Business With the Federal Government: Find the Opportunity, Capture and Close the Sale, Grow the Business." The event discussions focused on specific elements of the federal business development cycle. Mark Meaders, chapter treasurer and vice president for finance, served as master of ceremonies while Tom Rachfalski, chapter president, served as government panel moderator. Rear Adm. Raymond E. Berube, USN, commander, Naval Inventory Control Point (NAVICP), provided the luncheon keynote address. SIGNAL Magazine's new media editor, Helen Mosher, demonstrated AFCEA's Web 2.0 offerings. Guest speakers included Angela Williams, mentor protégé program manager, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Dolores Schnell, professor of acquisition management, Defense Acquisition University; Bill Hamilt ... READ MORE
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 08/08/2008
The chapter's August luncheon featured Maj. Gen. William T. Lord, USAF, commander, Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional), as the guest speaker. Gen. Lord provided an interesting presentation on the challenges of creating a new command and the complexities of assuming the new Air Force mission to battle cyberterrorism. Several members of the McGuire Air Force Base 305th Communications Squadron, including the commanding officer, Lt. Col. Robert Licciardi, USAF, attended the luncheon. Also during the luncheon, Mark Meaders, chapter chairman, presented the chapter's National Science Fair Award to Ben Agre. |
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 06/01/2008.jpg)
In June, Tom Rachfalski, chapter president, presented the chapter's 2008 Science Teaching Tools Grant check to Tracey Edwards, science teacher, and George Henry, principal, Highland Park School. The money will be applied to the school's "Program for Success," which helps students learn about the science of light and radio waves, electronic circuits, the electromagnetic spectrum, and transmitting and receiving signals by building their own radios. Edwards will also instruct the students on the fundamentals of fiber optics. The Gloucester City School District in Gloucester, New Jersey, has been identified as one of the 31 poorest regions by the New Jersey State Department of Education.
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 04/29/2008
The guest speaker at the April meeting was Lt. Col. David J. Pohlen, USAF, commanding officer, Air Force ROTC Detachment 750. Chapter president Tom Rachfalski presented an AFCEA honor award to Cadet Graeme R. Williams, Air Force ROTC, in recognition of his outstanding academic record and excellent leadership skills. The presentation was made during the change of command ceremony at ROTC Detachment 750, located at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Cadet Williams, a junior at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in engineering, received the honor award certificate and a ribbon bar, as well an AFCEA membership.
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PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER - 04/05/2007 Tom Rachfalski, chapter president, and Mark Meaders, chapter chairman of the board, joined five chapter members as special awards judges for the 2007 Delaware Valley Science Fair (DVSF) in April. The focus for the DVSF is to prepare area middle and high school students in the sciences and to develop scientific potential. Each student competing had already won in one of twelve regional science fairs in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Over 500 students compete at the DVSF in many categories. The Liberty Bell chapter AFCEA judges were focused on judging categories that included Biochemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Microbiology and Physics. After many reviews and discussions to narrow down the best project, they selected a first-place winner, who received a one-year AFCEA membership, $100 and an award certificate, and will continue on to the AFCEA International Science Fair in May. |
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